The Unknown Yet Unforgotten Past
by Honourable Fool
Summary: Slightly AU attempt to discover Heero's past. One winter night Relena finds herself working late and decides to take a chance asking this mysterious soldier about his past. One of my first. Kind of long one-shot.


AN/ hey ppls! Sup? I got realy bord 1 day so I ended cumin up w/ this lil stry on Heero's past. Its wicked sad an angsty an I think that the endings sorta sappy but I was runnin outa steem so I jus pushed it all out ther. This is it. Thers no mor. Jus a one shot deal. Ok, ok… it is a really long shot but that's jus the way I am so DEAL! Tee hee! An for those who're wonderin bout "Weeks Notice"… ya c, I hav a very fickle muse an she's not helping me out in that area. I think shes jus as spacey as I am. But as soon as I get past my writers block ill post. O well. An w/o further ado… wat was I sayin? I cant remember! Pooie! L o yea! Heres the stry!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing AC or any of it's characters so DON'T SUE PLEASE! Ive been tryin to get enough money 4 the Evanescence CD an im jus now getting close. An I don't own them either. Tootles!

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The Unknown Yet Unforgotten Past

Author: Gundamgurl84

Rating: Pg13 for violence and language.

      It was a cold winter's night. The sky was dark, overcast with gray clouds. Soft, white flakes of snow drifted lazily from the sky in sleepy trails. Every once in a while a gust of wind would blow, howling like a lonely wolf in the bitter cold, the voice of winter. High up on an old fashioned mansion, windows frosted over with the icy breath of these late hours overlooked a balcony. Inside were a man and a woman, outlined in the flickering glow of a warm fire, paying no heed to the bitter fangs of the wolves of winter.

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      Relena sighed as she sat back. She had had a ton of paper work and was finally finished with it all. She reached forward and turned of her desk light then sat back again. On cold winter nights such as these she liked to have a fire lit in the large fireplace that otherwise would have only been used for decoration. And now it was the only thing casting any light at all in her large office. She stared now at the crackling flames, so unlike the ones of her dreams. These flames were warm and kind, giving her heart a soft glow. The flames in her dreams, however, were angry and all-consuming and left her feeling sick and lonely and incredibly depressed… 

      She shivered slightly and shook her head. She didn't want to think of that now. Instead she turned her gaze to the dark figure beside the flames. A silent sentinel to keep watch over her. Heero was staring icily into the flames as though his mere gaze could freeze them over. He was leaning casually against the mantel yet the distant look in his cold eyes and the slight, imperceptible tenseness of his body told her that he was not really seeing the flames but was seeing another time and place, far from her warm office. His messy, dark brown hair had fallen down so that his face was half hid in shadow and she could hardly see his dark perusian blue eyes. The light flickered across his body giving him an eerie, menacing look as he stood there, arms crossed over his broad chest.

      She stood and walked over to him, watching him carefully. He didn't seem to notice the fact that he was not the only one the room. She stopped when she was standing right in front of the fire and could feel it radiating warmth over her body. His eyes were still distant and he grimaced at a certain memory.

      "What are you thinking?" she said softly.

      He blinked at her words and was suddenly brought back to reality. He looked up and seemed surprised to see her so close but carefully hid it. He looked away and shrugged.

      She frowned at his dismissive answer but refused to let in. 

      "Of course you know. Tell me! Please?" She added with a pleading look in her eyes. 

      He glanced up at her then turned sternly back to the floor. "The past." He grunted in that monotonous tone of his.

      It was better than nothing but not enough for her. "Well that explains everything." She said in a playfully sarcastic tone. "You could write a book with all the information you're giving me!"

      He grunted and walked toward the long, glass meeting table that she had in the center of her office. He took a seat in one of the squashy, leather chairs and slowly twisted the chair around from side to side. 

      She frowned again and put her hands on her hips. But after glaring at him for a few minutes she decided that tactic wasn't going to work and took a seat beside him, watching him lost in thought again.

      "Well?" She said. 

      He stopped his side-to-side motion and looked at her as though she were a rock that had suddenly sprung to life and began interrogating him. 

      "Well what?" He asked and for once he actually let a bit of feeling slip into his tone.

      "I've never heard you talk about your past before. In fact, I've never heard you talk about anything that has to do with yourself before. I just thought," And for a little bit of effect she turned away from and stared gloomily through the glass table to the floor below. "I just thought that you might actually tell me something for once. You never really talk to me. I thought that maybe you actually did want to talk to me. But… but, I guess not." At that last part she truly did start to feel gloomy. 

      She started to stand when his deep voice stopped her in her tracks. 

      "Sit down."

      She obeyed and turned to look at him. He was looking into the fire again, his face set as though preparing himself for something truly unpleasant. 

      "What do you want to know?" He asked without even looking at her. 

      She looked at him in shocked surprise for a while, not truly believing that he'd let her just start asking questions about everything and anything. She shook her head slightly and thought carefully about what questions she wanted to ask first because she had no idea how long this friendly front would last. She was suddenly so excited that she was finally going to know something about this mysterious man that she had spent many sleepless nights wondering about.

      "What is it," She started hesitantly. "Or what was it that made you so… well, cold? Or, well, if that's too much than I could settle for just your childhood. I've always wondered about both." She blushed at her last statement, not meaning to let that slip out, but he didn't notice. 

      He hadn't had any reaction to her questions, almost as though he had expected it. He stared into the fire another moment then sighed very deeply, as though preparing for a huge jump.

      "To tell you one I'd end up telling you both." He turned to look at her suddenly with a stern look on his face. "I'm warning you now, it's a long story and it's far from happy."

      She was taken aback slightly but was not about to back down now that she'd come so close. Could it really be _that _bad?

      "That's alright. I don't mind." And she smiled warmly at him in an encouraging way. 

      He looked at her blankly for a moment then sighed. "If you really want to know then…"

      And he began to talk and his deep voice wove a spell around her and she lost track of the world around her as the wolves of winter howled outside.

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      A man sat at a desk littered with papers. Evening was fading from the windows of his fancy office. He had let his hair fall back into its usual messy disarrangement as seen as he no longer had to go out in front of people. His dark blue eyes scanned a paper that he was holding up to the light, all the while he silently grumbled about various things. 

      On the other side of his office where his desk faced, the fancy, oak door opened slowly on silent hinges and a young woman entered. She was tall and dressed in a nice skirt and jacket, dark blue business suite. She had a pretty face and long chestnut hair that greatly brought out her grey-blue eyes. But the usual laughter that was in her eyes was now gone. Instead, she had a grim look on her face that said that she was clearly not looking forward to the task ahead. 

      She shut the door behind her and strode purposefully yet quietly up to the man sitting at the desk. He was so caught up in his examination of this one paper, though, that he did not realize that she was even there. She stepped right in front of his desk and gazed down at him a moment. Finally, she broke the long silence.

      "Hello." She half whispered.

      He looked up suddenly and for a moment looked remarkably like a deer that has suddenly found itself in the blinding headlights of an oncoming car. But in a moment he shook off his surprise and replaced it with anger.

      "What the hell do you think you're doing here? I thought we agreed not to meet each other anymore." He hardly moved his lips as he spoke to her as though trying not to let on the fact that he was actually speaking to her, even though there was no one else in the room. 

      "I know what we have agreed upon but there's something I need to tell you. I just found out that I am pregnant." She took a deep nervous breath as she watched him swallow these words.

      For a moment his face was totally blank. Then he looked at her in shock. But a moment later he had swallowed that emotion down as well and he looked at her with disgust and loathing. 

      "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" He spat.

      "Of course it is! It's your child, for Gods sake! Look, I don't want this to go all public or anything any more than you do. All I'm asking is that once the child is born you come and see it every five years or something like that. And maybe you can send him or her letters or cards or something. I just want you to acknowledge the child. That's all."

      He stared at her, his face a collage of mixed emotions. But he soon turned angry again. And not just angry but absolutely enraged. 

      "That's all? **That's All?!**" He suddenly began to yell at the top of his lungs. "I absolutely refuse! How dare you come waltzing in her and start demanding such things of me! I don't care if you drown the bastard child! But if you come anywhere near me or my family again then I will have you and that beast inside of you killed! Now get out of here, you little bitch, and never darken my sight again!" He breathed deeply and struggled to get his voice back under control.

      She stared at him in shock. But after a moment she snapped out of it and her face was set again. 

      "You must do as you see fit."

      "And I will." He growled.

      "Fine" she said as he looked back down to the paper he had been examining. A moment later he looked up and saw that she was gone. He let the paper fall back down to his messy desk and put his head in his hands, wondering just how it could have gone so far. 

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      A year later, the same man was sitting at home, watching his happy, innocent family. He had three daughters, all of whom looked exactly like him. The eldest was engaged to a nice young man, the youngest dreaming of high school and her first boyfriend, and the middle content to hang with boys and be the 'odd duck'. His beautiful wife sat in a chair talking with their daughter's fiancé about how work was going.

      His mind was distracted from the happy chatter by a certain thought. He had looked up hospital records and saw that that woman, as he referred to her in his mind, had given birth to a boy three months ago. Not only that but that bitch had given the bastard his name. She had called him Sannes Yuy. Sannes had been his grandfather's name and then she had given him his last name so the whole world could connect that destructive monster with the famous Heero Yuy. He could only hope the boy bore no resemblance to him.

      But what if he did? The question came unbidden to his mind. What if he looked exactly like him. For one dreadful moment he felt a swell of pride at the thought that he had given life to a son who was the exact image of him, looking and acting like him. Next moment he had swallowed that thought down as he realized the serious consequences. What if someone recognized the boy for who he really was and let it out to the press that he, Heero Yuy, had had an affair and actually cheated on his wife?! Not only would he lose his wife and daughters but there would be a huge scandal and all that he had worked years to accomplish would be ruined forever! 

      No! He could not let that happen. He knew what it was like out there and he would do anything to improve it so that people would not have to suffer as he had. He would even destroy his only son. But at his slight twinge of guilt he reasoned with himself, 'He's not really my son, He's only a bastard. He isn't legitimate and he doesn't matter.' 

      But no matter what he thought he could not bring himself to justify the out right killing of a relatively innocent child. There had to be another way. He had no problem with getting rid of the whore that boy would call a mother. But how to get rid of him? There had to be some sort of a secret program or something…

      That was it! He remembered now reading a file about some doctor doing research into the starting of some program. What was it though? He must have it still in his personal office at home. 

      At that simple thought he stood, excused himself and walked from the room into his study. A large, black filing cabinet off to the left immediately caught his eye and he began to rummage through it. 

      How long it took him he had no idea. But he knew that he had gone through ten drawers and two rows of cabinets before he finally found it. It was a small, ratty, old file with the words "Perfect Soldier Program" on top. He sat down at his desk and began looking through it. There was not much information. It was brought to his attention as a proof of injustice to be dealt with and gotten rid of. He hadn't acted upon it because he had not seen it as such a major threat that needed dealing with. Afterwards he had merely forgotten about it. 

      He looked at it now hoping that it would give a solution to his problem. The research for this program had been started by a man called Dr. Jay. He had started his research about it back in the years of AD how in some countries child soldiers had been used as a means to fight. They had always been referred to as the "perfect soldiers. But, according to further research and odd scientific studies, they truly were not the "perfect soldiers" they were claimed to be. They could, in fact, be _greatly_ improved. According to Dr. Jay's research, if children were taken at an even younger age, approximately 3 or 2 ½ years of age at the least, and were put through rigorous constant training then they could truly become the "perfect soldier", a soldier to end all wars.

      The file had a description of what exactly that training was and it was truly gruesome. Apparently, the doctor had found funding easily enough but had not been able to get a subject to test upon. He had tried at all the orphanages but the government was too protective and refused to let go of any boy's to be experimented on. Personally, he didn't blame the government. Just a mere scientific explanation of the procedure was enough to give a man nightmares. But it was the only hope he had for getting rid of this monster that could destroy everything he had ever worked for. 

      It was a monster of his own making and he planned to get rid of it his own way. 

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      A car rolled to a stop by an abandoned warehouse near the docks. The night was dark and gloomy and a mist had rolled over the land from the ocean and shone like silver beneath a lone streetlamp. The bell of a buoy clanged in the distance and a seagull cried out as the sea continuously moaned in the darkness. 

      A man stepped from the car. He looked very tall with his frame hidden in a black trench coat. The rim of the hat on his head was pulled down so that his face was hidden in shadows. He walked to a door in the side of the dingy, rusty and abused looking warehouse and knocked softly. He waited a moment until a small, rectangular caged window slid open and a pair of eye's appeared in the space. The man in the trench coat mumbled something and the window slid back closed with a snap. There was a moment of silence and then the door opened on silent hinges and he walked in. 

      The door closed behind him revealing a burly guard in a black suit that looked bigger than a center on a football team with his pads on. He was over 6 feet tall and looked down menacingly at the man in the trench coat. 

      "You're early." The man grunted in a deep voice.

      "I like to be punctual." He replied shortly.

      The man in the trench coat walked into the empty room that was so big that even in the light of day the other side would have been mostly obscured in shadow. He walked to the left along the wall until he met a rusty grille in the wall, on the other side of which was a lift. He hesitated then reached out a hand and opened the grille with an almighty wrench. He stepped inside the lift and, reaching into a pocket in his coat, took out a small key. He closed the grille with a snap and turned to the control panel and saw the little keyhole next to the one that would reveal the wires. He inserted the key and pushed it with all his might until it made a complete 360 degree circle. Both key and lock were very rusty and it turned very slowly. A tiny door sprang open near the bottom of the control panel revealing a down button. He pushed this and the lift sprang to life and slowly made its decent. 

      Ten minutes later, the lift came to a stop and the grille popped open of its own accord. For a moment there was only impenetrable darkness and then a light turned itself on with a little buzz of electricity. There was a short, grungy hallway with nothing in it or adorning its white wash walls. On the other end, however, there stood another grille with nothing but empty space behind it. 

      He wrenched the tiny key from the control panel and stepped forward. As soon as he stepped into the hall, though, the grille behind him closed and the lift headed back up to the floor above. He reached the opposite grille in a few short strides and inserted the tiny key into another lock beside the rusty grille. This time though, when a tiny door popped open it revealed a tiny keypad with strange symbols on it. He pressed in a code with his forefinger and suddenly the sound of another lift echoed up from the bottom of a long drop behind the grille. Minutes later a lift appeared and the grille sprung open. This lift actually had a little light at the top and was made of all stainless steel. 

      He stepped inside and as he did the grille snapped shut. He turned and a female voice that sounded as though it was some computer generated sound came on from somewhere above. 

      "Please state name and business." It said in a dry monotone.

      He cleared his throat. "My name is Heero Yuy and I am here to speak with Dr. Jay. I made an appointment." He added as an after thought, though he really didn't think it would matter much to a computer. 

      There was a long pause, then the computer voice said in a slightly higher tone, "Welcome, Heero Yuy." And then the lift jolted to life and took him even further down. This lift was also much faster then the last but it was still several minutes before they reached the bottom. 

      When the grille sprang open again he found himself in an area that was probably twice as large as the one on the first floor judging by the huge echo. The room was just as dark but he could see large things glint at him with the shine of steel in the darkness. A short man with a long mane of gray hair, a long gray mustache and a gray goatee stood a few feet away. He had funny glasses on that hid his eyes and a long, white jacket. 

      "You must be Dr. Jay?" Heero asked as he stepped forward. 

      "I knew you would be early." The old man replied in a husky voice. "Come," he said. "Here is no place to talk."

      He turned and walked off with Heero trailing after him. After walking for a silent minute, they reached a door which the doctor pulled open to allow his guest to enter first. As soon as he stepped in a light flickered on revealing what appeared to be a kitchen or break room. It had a sink, a fridge, a stove with a steaming kettle on top and a steel table with two stools on either end and two cups. He looked to his right and saw a coat rack there. He sighed appreciatively and, as the doctor closed the door and stepped toward the stove and kettle, took off his hat and coat. His hair had gotten mussed up again beneath his hat and his dark blue eye's shined with anxiety.

      He turned and saw the doctor walk toward the table with the steaming kettle in hand. "Please, please sit down Mr. Yuy." He intoned and motioned him toward a stool. He started to pour the boiling water in one of the cups. "I must admit that I am quite honored to have such a prestigious politician come to visit. Would you like some tea?" 

      He nodded as he sat on a stool and the doctor poured a second cup. He set the kettle down and settled himself down on the stool opposite Mr. Yuy. They both stared into their cups a moment before the doctor leaned back and broke the long silence.

      "So, what brings _you _down to see me, sir?"

      He hesitated before he looked up into the doctors eyes and said in a calm voice, "I heard about this program you're trying to get started, this "perfect soldier" program." He swallowed visibly. "And I have a proposal for you." Dr. Jay merely swirled his tea then, deciding it had sat long enough, took a sip. 

      "And what exactly do you know?" The doctor asked suddenly so that Heero started. 

      He took a nervous sip of tea with a shaky hand and made a face. He much more preferred alcohol at this time of night but at least it would keep his mouth from getting dried out. "I heard that you got this idea but studying child soldiers back in the late 1900's and early 2000's. I know that you are getting short on funding for research because you can't find a subject to test your theories on because the government protects those damn bastards so much."

      Dr. Jay gave a malicious smile. "And here I thought you were a family man."

      Mr. Yuy grunted. "Bastards don't have family. But the proposal I have for you tonight will give you not only a subject but funding to last you a lifetime." He took a draught of the tea and gave a nervous sigh. 

      "It seems a generous offer but you politicians tend to be very shrewd people so I can't help but wonder. What will you be getting out of this? What will I have to do? And will it be legal?" He took another sip of his tea and Heero could feel his eyes boring into him.

      "It will be legal… to a point. But you need not worry about that part. I will make sure it is very well covered up." It was then his turn for his eyes to flash maliciously. "You see, I have a slight problem. A little while ago I had a slight midlife crisis, though I tried to hide it best I could. But I couldn't completely detain it. One day when I was at the coffee shop I saw a gorgeous young woman that any man would have given a leg to have. I made friends with her and eventually convinced her to have an affair with me. I was with her for a year though no one knew it. I finally had my fill and told her that we were to never see each other again. But, almost two years ago now, she turned up in my office one day to tell me she was pregnant and that the child was mine. She asked me to acknowledge the child and I refused saying that if she ever came near me or my family again then I would have her and that monster killed. She left and has since done as I told her. But I am still worried.

      "You see, the little bitch named the boy after my grandfather and gave him my last name. I have also been able to watch them both from time to time by pulling some strings and the boy looks uncomfortably like me. He is also extremely intelligent and very advanced in all that he does. He is by now 2 years old and the exact image of me. That's the thing about the Yuy family, our genes flow very strongly through our blood and we always pass our looks on to our offspring. And we do have a tendency to stick out." He grimaced.

      Dr. Jay took another long drink and set down an empty cup. "So you want me to take the boy. I must admit that I am not one for kidnap, though Mr. Yuy."

      "You aren't kidnapping him. He's my own flesh and blood, I can do what I want with the bastard."

      "That may be so but his mother will never approve of me taking him."

      "She doesn't have to. That's the illegal part I was telling you about. But I can smooth it over. I want you to take the boy and kill his mother." He whispered in a dangerous fashion. The doctor took a sharp intake of breath and raised his grey eyebrows. "There's no way we can let her live! The whole reason we're taking the boy is to keep his identity from the press. If the press gets a hold of the fact that I had an affair and a child resulted in it they would have a field day! There would a huge scandal! I would lose my life's work! I have worked too hard let one little monster destroy all that I have done. Especially when he can be gotten rid of so easily! And if we take him and leave the mother then she's bound to make a fuss about it so that there is a scandal. This is the only way."

      Dr. Jay hesitated. "I don't know, Yuy…"

      "What's there not to know about? I can plan the whole thing. No one will ever know what happened. No one needs to know." He greatly emphasized his last sentence. "All you have to do is go in there, kill the woman, grab the boy and get out. It's an easy job." Heero was now the confidant one and Dr. Jay was the nervous one. He was trying hard as he could to convince the doctor that there wouldn't be a problem. "And at the end of it all, not only do you have funding but you have a subject to test on."

      Dr. Jay scratched at a spot on his chin, thinking it over. "How old did you say the boy was?"

      "One" Replied Mr. Yuy in a quiet voice with slightly distant eyes. He shook his head and looked at the doctor who sighed heavily.

      "I'll do it but I have to wait at least another year and a half." 

      "But…" Heero started.

      "The boy has to spend a certain amount of time with his mother so she can raise him to a point. That's the way it has to happen, I'm sorry Mr. Yuy."

      He sighed and looked down at his half empty cup. "Alright then." He said looking at the doctor. "I'll send you all the information I have. But once you have the boy I expect monthly reports that describe each day. And I don't want you going easy on him. I don't care if you bring him to the point of death. The harder you are the better. I want him to rue the day he was born."

      He stood to go when the doctor's voice made him turn back around. 

      "What is the boy's name?"

      He paused a moment. "Sannes Heero Yuy."

      And with that, he turned and left. 

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      A year and a half later, it was Christmas Eve. Our scene is set in a cozy little house that shows the signs of a 2 1/2 year-old boy living in it. A Christmas tree was set in the corner of the living room and underneath it were brightly wrapped gifts, most marked with the name 'Sannes' on them, a few messy ones marked with 'Mommy' in scribbled, uneven letters. Light's shining in different colors made the tree glow with warmth with on its many ornaments. Off to the side, a fire merrily crackled in a fireplace underneath two, bright red, felt stockings. The windows were all fogged over and snow had gathered in the panes as more white flecks fell from a darkened sky. In the dinning room, a young boy sits at the end of the table with his mother bending over him. A blue and green package was set on the table in front of him as his mother spoke softly to him.       

      "Now Sannes, because it's Christmas Eve you can open one present and one present only before Santa comes." He nodded his messy brown head in solemn understanding but his dark blue eyes shined with anticipation of opening his gift. The woman tried not to laugh at her son's solemnity but her grey-blue eyes could not hide it. She flicked her chestnut hair behind her shoulder and said, "Now hold on a second, let me just grab this…"

      She reached across the table and over her son's present to grab a camera on the other side. But as she stretched her arm out, her silver charm bracelet that was literally jam packed with charms jingled and caught her son's blue-eyed attention. 

      As she fiddled with the settings of her camera he asked in a young voice with his eyes still on the shining charm bracelet, "Mommy, you said I could have any gift I wanted, right?"

      She looked up surprised. "Yes. Do you not want this one?"

      He looked up at her and said quickly, "No, this one's really nice. But…I was just wondering…"

      "What is it?" 

      He looked at her charm bracelet again and pointed, saying, "Can I have that?" He looked up at her with hope filled eyes.

      She followed his finger and started in surprise. "You want my charm bracelet?"

      Their eyes met and he suddenly became sheepish. He nodded and said, "I think it's really pretty. I've always liked it."

      She smiled at him. "Well, I won't give it to you today, but I promise, one day it will be yours." 

      His eyes brightened. "Really?"

      She couldn't help widening her smile or the tiny laugh that escaped her. "Really!" She said and kissed his brow.

      "Cool! But, can I still open this present?" Worry was now in his young eyes.

      "Yes, you can still open this present."

      "All right!" and he immediately went to it, ripping paper with small fists and throwing it on the carpeted floor behind him. 

      But before he could finish tearing the paper to shreds, a noise caused them both to look up suddenly. It had sounded as though someone had just come in the front door. The boy's face widened in a grin as he realized this was probably some surprise his mother had planned for him. Perhaps his father had finally come. But when he looked up into her face he saw only concern there. He looked back to the entrance of the dining room and saw five men there. Four were tall and extremely muscular in their black suits. The fifth was a short old man that sent a foreboding chill down the young boy's spine. 

      "Ah," the old man started in a husky voice. "You must be Sannes." The boy narrowed his eyes in a mistrusting glare that made the old man with his white coat flinch in an imperceptible manner. But before he could say anything, he felt his mother move closer to him, both hands upon his shoulders.

      "Who are you? What do you want with my son?" Sannes suddenly felt afraid. He had never heard his mothers tone go so deep or menacing before. But only he could perceive the note of fear in her strong, intimidating voice.

      "My name, madam, is Dr. Jay and I am here on special orders to take Sannes here into the "Perfect Soldier" program."

      "Upon who's orders?" She demanded.

      "Why, upon his father's orders of course." 

      His father? That didn't make any sense. He had never even seen his father before! Why was his father sending strange men to take him away from his Mommy? He whimpered softly and edged farther back into his seat, leaning closer to the warmth that was his mother. As long as she was here he'd be safe. 

      "I'm sorry but you seem to be mistaken. Sannes has no father. Now, I must ask you all to leave before I call the police." He knew that his mother was lying to the men about him not having a father, she had told him many times about the great man his father was. But would these men see through her lie too? 

      The old man smiled in a way that sent even more chills down Sannes' back. "That's interesting because the boy certainly looks a lot like the man who came to see me who claimed to be the boy's father. Anyway, you really don't have a choice about it. If you don't give us the boy of your own free will then we will take him from you."

      At that his mother lifted him out of his seat and held him close. "Over my dead body!" She half growled.

      Dr. Jay smiled maliciously. "That's the idea. Get the boy." He commanded the men behind him. 

      They jumped forward as though they had been waiting for this signal. His mother suddenly ran through the side door of the dining room and into the kitchen. She reached the cutlery drawers and set him down. 

      "Sannes, listen to me. You need to run and hide in the secret space in my closet and don't come out. You understand?" He nodded. "Good, now go!" She pushed him back and he ran to the other door of the kitchen then stopped and turned back to watch. 

      His mother opened a drawer and grabbed a handful of cooking knives. The men in black suits ran at her and she started to throw the knives. She hit two of the men, one in the leg the other in the arm and stomach. The old man came marching into the kitchen and said, "Leave her to me! Go find that boy! And don't kill him!" The two unharmed men ran out of the kitchen the way they came and the third one limped out after them. The fourth one had ceased to move. 

      The old man now advanced on his mother. Sannes knew he should be running from the men but he couldn't tear his eyes away from his mother. She stood there with only one butchers knife left. The old man stopped just out of her reach and said something Sannes couldn't hear but made his mother growl back in anger. Dr. Jay started to laugh as he reached into his pocket and took out a shiny, silver gun. At that exact moment Sannes heard their Christmas tree in the living room crash and several ornaments and lights broke with a tinkling pop. By the roaring noise that followed he guessed that it had fallen into the fire and it was now spreading quickly as more crashes came from the men trashing the living room. 

      "Your usefulness has come to an end, my dear. And so has your life." He heard the old man say as smoke began to fill the house. The old man was seconds away from pulling the trigger when his mother lunged at him, swinging her knife. Sannes heard the sickening sound of the knife connecting with flesh and then both falling to the ground a second after a gunshot rang out. He looked in horror as he saw his mother shot in the shoulder, her knife flashed at him as the doctors hand fell to the ground, still clutching the gun. The doctor screamed out in pain and hunched himself over the bloody stump that had once ended in a hand. But Sannes wasn't watching him. He watched his mother sink to her knees, clutching her shoulder. She bit her lip to stifle any screams of pain that would have otherwise been emitted from her mouth. 

      "You bitch!" the doctors husky voice rang out. "I was going to make your death painless but now that you've made me mad then I'm going to make it painful for you!"

      Sannes was now terrified, rooted to the spot in his horror. He couldn't kill her. There was no way. She couldn't die. It wasn't possible! Didn't he know that? 

      He gasped sharply as the old man stepped forward and wrapped his only hand left around her throat and began lifting her off the ground. For such a small man he was surprisingly strong. But that did not impress Sannes. His mother had started gasping for air, struggling to pry the doctor's gnarled hand off with her fingers, but to no avail. He only gripped harder and lifted her higher. Just as she started to go slightly limp, his eyes fell upon her dropped knife lying near his dismembered hand. He gave a barked laugh of triumph and let her go, allowing her to crumble on the floor. As she bent over, coughing and choking upon the breath that had suddenly filled her lungs, Dr. Jay grabbed the knife.

      He gave her a kick and she rolled over with a gasp. As he raised the knife he said, "Now it ends." Sannes watched in horror as the knife descended once, twice, thrice… The doctor continued to plunge the knife into her as her screams echoed loud enough that Sannes thought that the angels in heaven she had told him about would hear and come to her rescue. Blood spurted everywhere and her body shook in violent twitches. At last the doctor gave another sweeping blow and slit her throat, silencing her forever. No angels had come. She lay there now still as stone in her own pool of blood. 

      Sannes waited. Yes, any second now she would suddenly spring back to life and would hold him close again. Either that or he would wake up from this nightmare and see her standing over him, ready to kiss his brow and hold him as he sobbed on her shoulder. He seemed to have gone deaf because he suddenly could hear nothing but the echoes of her screams ringing in his ears. Any second now, any second…

      Nothing happened. She lay there still and he was not waking up. Slowly, sounds came back to him as his world crumbled. He could hear the ragged breathing of the doctor, the roar of gathering flames, the crash of things being thrown and broken. But only one thought penetrated his numb mind. 

      She's dead.

      His eyes went blurry and stung with tears such as he had never known before. His heart was going to burst with pain any moment now. 

      "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The sound tore from his throat so suddenly he felt that it would rip. The crashing stopped and the doctor looked up at him suddenly as he focused his eyes on Sannes. His mouth dropped open at the sight of the boy, messy brown fringe fallen down to hide his eyes as he sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked up slowly to show perusian blue eyes full of raging hate. 

      "You!" his young voice rang eerily in the silence interrupted only by the crackle of flames. "YOU! YOU KILLED HER! HOW COULD YOU!! I HATE YOU!!" The doctor was stunned by this outburst and stood his ground as the boy suddenly charged, fists raised.

      But before he could reach the doctor, two of the men in suits came up and attempted to grab him. But in his blind rage he was too quick for them. He ran and kicked, bit and hit them. But he could not get away. The third man came up from behind and grabbed him, holding him still as he could as Sannes kicked and struggled, roaring with rage. The other two grabbed his arms and legs and held him still as the doctor limped forward saying, "Hold him still so I can sedate him." He reached into another coat pocket and took out a syringe. He jabbed it hard into the boys arm and he screamed in pain. He struggled a moment then somehow got out of the men's hold. 

      He ran into the hall and stopped, suddenly feeling extremely sleepy. He pulled out the syringe and threw it into the flames where his living room had been. He stared into the flames. The orange tongues seemed to leap at him, beckoning him to join in their dance and forget all else. He wanted to join them but found he had not the strength to move. He merely stood there sobbing until darkness took him and he knew no more.

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      The first thing he felt was cold. He curled up into a tighter ball and reached down for his sheets. They must have fallen off the bed because he couldn't find them and he was too cold to get out of bed and get them. He kept his eyes tight shut and waited for sleep to come back. Then he realized how hungry he was. He felt as though he hadn't eaten in days. He rolled over, trying to forget his hunger and find a more comfortable spot. That was when he realized that he wasn't in his own bed but on what felt like a hard, dirt floor.

      He opened his eyes but it made no difference. He held his hand in front of his face and could barely see the white shadow that he guessed it was. He sat up and twisted his head from side to side. The darkness seemed to press in upon his eyes. What was going on? Where was he? He suddenly felt very afraid. 

      "Mommy!" he tried to yell, but all that escaped his dry throat was a croak. He was so thirsty! He began to whimper in panic. Where was she? That was when he remembered his nightmare. The men coming and burning his house. That old man in the white jacket, he fought his mother and then he…he…

      "Mommy, Mommy!" he started crying over and over again. "Mommy!" he screamed and fell to his knees. He rocked himself back and forth as he cried uncontrollably. 

      He heard a distant sound behind him and a moment later a door was thrown open and he was blinded by the stunning light. He fell forward and turned slowly, tears still streaming down his face. He blinked in the light and tried to edge back a bit. A short, hunched over man was suddenly illuminated in the door and Sannes whimpered in fright.

      "Shut up!" a husky voice barked at him. He recognized that voice. He could never forget the voice of the man who murdered his mother. "For five days you have been whimpering in your sleep for that God forsaken woman and once you wake up what do you do? You start screaming for her! Can't you get it through your thick head? She's dead! Get over it!"

      At this he suddenly found his voice. "You're lying!" he shrieked.

      The doctor chuckled and moved into the shadow so that the light reflected on his face and Sannes could see him. "Lying, am I boy? Well then, maybe you can take this as proof." He lifted up his right arm as if to show him his hand. But instead it ended in a stump that had a funny, bracelet type thing on it. 

      Sannes gasped. In his dream his mother had cut off this mans hand. Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it had been true. Maybe she really was… really was… dead.

      "No!" he screamed. "I want my Mommy! I hate you! You killed her!" He sprang up and ran at the old man and gave him a surprisingly strong push that knocked him over. The boy climbed on top of him and began to pummel him with his fists. 

      Another man stepped in the room, the most muscular Sannes had yet seen though he paid him no mind. All he knew was the need to rip, to hurt, to kill this man beneath him. The other man grabbed Sannes around the middle and threw him with all his strength into a wall. He hit it with a sickening crunch and crumbled to the ground. But such was his rage that he could not register his own pain. He stood slowly and started to run at the man in the suit who was standing guard over Dr. Jay. But as he reached him, the man flung out his fist so hard that Sannes flew into the wall again.

      "I want you to beat him," Dr. Jay started in a husky, hoarse voice. "beat him bloody. Beat him with no mercy until he is unconscious." The man grunted and nodded, but pity was in his brown eyes as he looked at the boy struggling to his feet. The doctor stood and said, "But if you kill him then I will have your skin." He turned and left the tiny, dark, cold cell that was to be the boy's home. But a moment later, the boys screams and pleads began to follow him, echoing down the hall.

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      The day's that followed were all the same. He would wake up from a fitful sleep and start screaming for his mother before he remembered where he was and what had happened. The doctor would come into his cell and taunt him into a rage so that the big man who came the first day would come back in and beat him into unconsciousness. When he woke up again, he would find a bowl of cold broth that had some hard, stale lumps of stuff in it that he couldn't identify and a heel of stale bread. He ate so hungrily that he slopped some of the precious broth on the floor. But it never filled him. After eating, he resorted to wandering around his tiny cell and memorizing it by its feel until he curled into a ball in the corner and cried himself to sleep. 

      He had no comfort. Not even his thoughts could ever comfort him because all they did was ask tantalizing questions that he would never know the answers to. Why had this happened to him? Why did his father, a man he had never met, done this to him? Had he done something wrong? Why did his mother have to die? Why, why, why, WHY?!?!

      Eventually he stopped screaming when he awoke, but Dr. Jay still came. He even stopped responding to his taunts and stopped trying to fight back. He didn't even fight back when the big man came to beat him up. Many times didn't eat the slop that was proffered to him but he always ate before the pain became unbearable. 

      The light in his young eyes grew distant until it died and his hair became longer and even messier. He grew slowly taller but he was so skinny he seemed sickly. His dark eyes grew hollow, his face sunken in. He cried until he cried blood but still wouldn't stop. He was bruised and bloodied and often woke up to nurse broken limbs. But the doctor and his crony were relentless in their daily ritual.

      One day the doctor came into his room and watched the boy in silence. The boy, who had long forgotten his name because he was only ever called 'boy', merely stood off to the side, staring off into space like he always did. He knew the doctor was there but he didn't care. He refused to acknowledge him. He never needed to. But after five minutes of standing there in silence he was more than slightly irked and he turned his hollow, empty eyes onto the doctor. 

      It was all Dr. Jay could do not to flinch at the sight of those eyes. His goal had been to break the boy, body mind and spirit, and he had more than succeeded. Maybe he, the boy, wasn't as strong as he had thought. But he was still alive, and that was certainly something. 

      "What do you want?" The boy asked in a voice that echoed the emptiness in his eyes. 

      Dr. Jay took a deep, shaky breath. 'Time for phase two' he thought. "You have been here for a year and a half. Yesterday was your fourth birthday."

      The boy blinked. "Oh" he said and looked away.

      "I have decided it is time to start your education." He was expecting a curious look, or even a hollow look, but instead he got absolutely nothing. He cleared his throat. "You will be educated in most of the usual academics and on how to fight, how to use computers, how to hack into things, how to use a gun and how to kill." He waited but still he got nothing from the boy. "It starts tomorrow so be prepared." And he turned and left. 

      But once he closed the heavy door behind him and locked it he leaned heavily upon it and took a deep breath. He had never expected these sorts of results from the boy. In truth, he hadn't been prepared for anything that boy had thrown at him. He shook of his chills and walked off to make the final preparations. 

      The next day, the doctor came into the boy's cell hours earlier than usual to find him crouched down, leaning back on the wall. 

      "Enough daydreamin', boy. It's time for your lessons." He barked in his husky voice. 

      The boy looked at him a moment then stood and walked towards him. He stepped into the doorway and blinked hard. After a year and a half in that dark cell he could hardly see in normal light. But after a few moments his vision cleared and he could see the doctor flanked by three men, the same three that had come to retrieve him. He narrowed his hollow eyes at them and they all shifted nervously. 

      He could now see the doctor much more clearly and saw that he had put some strange machine claw at the end of the stump of his right arm. The three fingered claw kept rotating and flexing its fingers at him. He saw that the doctor was looking him up and down at him too and by the look on his face he wasn't happy.

      "But before you start lessons I'm gonna take you to get some new clothes. Follow me." He said and walked off down the hall. 

      He personally couldn't care less how he looked or what he wore but he followed Dr. Jay anyway. He didn't pay attention to where he was going but all he knew was that the doctor had led him into a white room and he was suddenly handed a pair of black shorts and a green shirt. He went into a corner of the room and changed into them. The shorts were awfully tight and the shirt revealed just how scrawny and starved he was. The doctor nodded in satisfaction and led him into another room. 

      His lessons began each day with general academics where he learned history, math, science, politics, reading and writing. He then had a lunch break where he ate a warm, chicken soup. He had forgotten what it was like to eat hot food and was startled by it. He then went a lesson on guns and aiming followed by computer literacy. He went quickly through the computer course and was soon advanced to computer hacking. After the computer class he had an anatomy lesson that later turned to kung fu, karate and many exotic styles of fighting. He finished the day in a large room full of gym equipment meant for increasing his strength and general fighting ability. He had a small diner and then was sent back to his cell to nurse injuries done by his teachers. They had been encouraged to beat him at every possible moment. 

      For a whole year he went through this long and rigorous schedule rarely getting even half a second to breath. He was now aware of the dates and times and knew when his fifth birthday came and went. Nothing special had happened. If anything his teachers had gone extra cruel on him and beat him harder then before. But two days after his fifth birthday, his schedule was interrupted. 

      Dr. Jay had come into his cell at the usual time and the boy had stood to meet him to go to lessons. It was by now an automatic thing. But this time, when he reached the doorway, Dr. Jay didn't turn to lead him away. He raised his eyebrows as he looked up at the doctor but didn't say anything. The doctor didn't like it when he asked haughty questions before he spoke. 

      "Change in plans, boy." He smirked at his lack of response. "Do you happen to know who Heero Yuy is, other then a politician?"

      He narrowed his eyes under his dark fringe so that he seemed truly menacing with his still slightly sunken face. "Yes" he growled and his knuckles turned white as he gripped his hands into fists.

      Dr. Jay smiled. "Very good! Because he is your first mission. Today, you will be going to a meeting hall where he is giving a speech and you will kill him." His hateful expression didn't change at all. "And then tomorrow you will be going to his home and you will kill his wife, three daughters and anyone else that is there. Understand?" He waited, curious what he might say.

      "Mission accepted."

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      The car ride was a long one but the boy hardly noticed it. He could never remember being in a car before and he was fascinated by it and watched the scenery rolling by with curiosity. In truth, he remembered nothing of the outside world, only his mother's death and the sight of their burning living room. When his nose was not pressed to the window, he was fingering the small gun in his pocket. He knew how to use it very well and could aim better then anyone in the car with him. But he had never shot at a living person before. Only manikins.

      They arrived at the meeting house and Dr. Jay got them in a back way using some id card and a few muttered words to the guards. He kept his hand on the boy and steered him carefully. For once he had gone without his own guard and it made the boy nervous. They went up some stairs and past many people who paid them no heed. Finally they reached an area that was encircled in a red, velvet curtain. He could hear the boom of a man's voice on the other side and started to step forward when Dr. Jay grabbed his shoulder, pulled him back and turned him around. 

      "Now once you go through that curtain you're on your own, boy. Just listen," He reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a picture. "See this man here?" he said pointing at the picture. He nodded. "This is Heero Yuy. This is your target. This is your father." He narrowed his eyes at the word but continued to study the man he hated so, the man he had never met. "When you go through that curtain you'll be on a balcony. You should see him pretty easy 'cause it sounds like he's the one talking. But make sure he's the right one anyway. Once you're sure don't wait too long. Try to make it one clean shot. Make it two if you're nervous. Once you've shot then throw the gun any where into the room then come back to me ASAP. Understand?"

      He nodded quickly as he handed the picture back. "Good. Now go."

      The boy turned and reached a shaky hand and grasped the curtain. He took a deep breath then walked out into the light. He was on a small balcony, just as the doctor had said. At the edge was a railing only as tall as he was. He stepped towards it and as he did so the booming voice became louder and louder. 

      "…can't allow these injustices to continue." The man was saying as he peered through the bars. "We must put a stop to them before our children our sacrificed as well." There was a slightly nervous silence. He searched all the faces in the room below until his gaze fell upon the man who was speaking. He could not help the sharp intake of breath. He had looked in a mirror only a few times before but this was like looking into a mirror that showed the future. Every feature was exactly the same except that he couldn't help but notice that the man below was healthy and fit and his face was not sunken in. His skin did not show the scars of abuse that his did. 

      He was filled with rage as his fathers voice echoed around the silent hall again. But he paid no heed to the words. All he knew was that he wanted to hurt this man as he had hurt him. He took his gun out and automatically aimed it at the right spot, the spot that he knew would give him the most painful death. With out another second's hesitation he pulled the trigger. The shot rang loudly in his ears as people screamed and yelled in surprise. Heero Yuy had stopped speaking, a look of shock on his face. He suddenly slumped over and screamed in pain. 

      The boy tossed the gun across the room and it landed in a mass of people as they began to run for the exits. He ran back behind the curtain and, when he saw the doctor, an evil and unfamiliar grin spread its way across his face and he gave a bark of laughter that made the doctor shiver. 

      "C'mon, let's go." He said and hastened his way out of the building. He rushed past panicking people and they made it back to the car without a hitch. The car sped away as police and ambulance came driving towards the building. The doctor kept on giving the boy edgy, nervous looks as he still hadn't stopped grinning. 

      After a while, the boy turned to the doctor and said, "How long ago did we leave?"

      "Five minutes ago. Why?"

      The boy's grin turned positively cruel. "That means that he's dead now. I've been waiting to do that ever since I can remember." He turned to look out the window again, his grin fading to a smug smile. He could never remember feeling like this before. He felt… good. But while he felt good he also felt a bit cold. If killing people was always like this then he would have no problem with tomorrow.

      The next day they arrived at a handsome looking mansion that looked as old as the mountain range he could see in the distance. The boy felt excited and looked forward to what he had to do, killing his half family. A butler answered the door and as soon as he did Dr. Jay shot him. The aged man fell to the floor, eye's still wide in shock. The boy stared at the butler's unseeing eyes. He had never been so close to death before. But as the doctor continued on into the house he merely shook his head and followed. After all, that old man had just been another nameless, faceless person. 

      The mansion was large inside and all over the place there were portraits of people that looked exactly like him and exactly like his father had. He was slightly perturbed by this fact but tried to ignore it. These people didn't matter. These people were family to the man who had exiled him. Dr. Jay seemed to know where he was going because soon they were outside the door of a room where he could here many voices speaking in low tones.

      The doctor hesitated outside the door with a look at the boy and then opened the doors and walked in. Everyone in the room stopped to stare at the doctor and boy. He stared around the room and saw more people that looked like him. Three girls with the same brown hair and blue eyes, even a little boy clinging to his mother's leg looked like him. There were two men in the room, each of them standing protectively near a different girl. The third girl, who looked to be the middle child, stood behind a chair in which a pretty woman was sitting, sniveling into a handkerchief. 

      "Well now, what a lovely day for a party, wouldn't you agree Mrs. Yuy?" Dr. Jay said in a sarcastic manner to the woman in the chair. He had an eerie smile on his face that the boy knew was to be feared, but he paid it no mind. He was looking at all the people in the room, especially the oldest daughter. She was the one with the boy who looked to be no older than two. He stood on uncertain legs, keeping a firm grip on his mother's leg, with red eyes that told the tell tale sign of crying. 

      "Who are you? What are you doing here? I told Charles not to let anymore people come to see us." The woman in the chair started. She would have continued but Dr. Jay's chuckle stopped her.

      "Charles is indisposed at the moment. But I just thought that you would like to meet someone." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and pushed him forward a few steps. His hand automatically went to the gun hidden his black shorts. Suddenly he wasn't so sure about this. "You see this young boy here? Well he is the product of an affair your husband had." The whole room took a collective gasp and he could feel every eye turn upon him. But as they did, the doctor muttered out of the side of his mouth in a tone that only he could hear. "Get ready boy." He gripped his gun carefully and took a large gulp. Why was he so scared? He had never felt so scared before. "I just thought you would like to see the face of the person who killed Heero Yuy before he killed you too." And with that the doctor pushed him again and hollered, "Now, boy!"

      Automatically, he aimed for the nearest girl and shot for her heart. But before she had even emitted a scream he had shot her boyfriend. He shot the woman in the chair next followed by her daughter and he felt strangely numb. He aimed at the last man even as he reached into his own pocket. He couldn't help but notice how slowly everything moved as he pulled the trigger then aimed at and shot the oldest daughter. Lastly, his aim fell upon the two-year-old boy who watched in numb, silent horror as his mother fell to the floor. Her blood was dark as rubies as it pooled on the floor with the rest of her families. 

      "Mommy?" he whispered. He looked unsteady upon his legs without his mother's support. Slowly, he turned up his tearstained face and the boy suddenly remembered watching his own mother die. As their identical eyes met and they both looked at each other beneath messy brown fringes, the horribleness of what he had done sank in. He had walked into the home of complete strangers and just started shooting. How could he? What had he done? No! He had turned into a monster!

      The gun fell from his hands and hit the floor with a clatter. He fell to his knees and stared off to the side where a roaring fire was set in the fireplace. What had he done? It wasn't possible. When had he become so horrible?

      He was suddenly filled with rage at himself and stood suddenly. A small wooden table stood off to the side and with a roar of rage he grabbed the table, ran to the fire and threw it in. The wood smashed as it hit the back of the fireplace with a satisfying crunch. He sank to his knees again and stared into the flames, watching the wood crackle and burn. Sparks flew at him and singed his face as the wood cracked but he did not feel it. What had he done?

      A gunshot rang suddenly from behind him and he turned just in time to see the little boy fall next to his mother, his own blood mingling in hers. He watched the crimson liquid swirl upon the floor, its color beautiful and tantalizing yet deadly and gross. He stood, still staring at the boy's now lifeless form.

      "Why?" he was barely able to whisper it.

      "I told you to kill everyone!" The doctor's husky reply came. "Now let's go!" he barked and, grabbing the boy's hand, dragged him out of the room and back outside to the car.

      He had never before felt so horrible.

      "Don't worry. Soon enough you'll forget that horrible, sick feeling." The doctor told him as the scenery whipped past. He didn't know if that was supposed to be comfort or not.

      Next day he was back at the doctor's lab and back to his lessons. As the years passed he found he was often given missions to blow up buildings, assassinate people and get information from inside high security buildings. After a year of these missions randomly popping up he began to get used to it. He no longer felt anything at all about watching people he didn't even know die. None of it mattered. No one in the colonies or on earth had ever cared for him so why should he care about them? 

      He quickly became an expert fighter in all types of fighting and was strong enough to lift 5 times his weight in no time, though he hid his strength behind a small build. He could hack into any program, get into any building and fly better then any man. He also could never stand going too long without injuring something. When he was little he became so used to daily beatings and such that when he was 8 and stronger then most of the men that Dr. Jay brought him to fight against, he would purposefully dislocate or brake limbs just to feel the pain again. Because that was the only thing he still knew how to feel.

      He lost the ability feel happiness, sadness, anger. He lost the ability to smile or laugh or feel true pain, unless it was from a severe injury. His eyes were colder then an ice storm in the darkest, coldest hour in Antarctica. He grew quickly taller but maintained the appearance of one who could easily be snapped over a person's knee. His voice grew deeper but he hardly spoke, and when he did it was in a dry monotone that would send shivers down the backs of grown men. His glare was enough to send anyone running. He was quicker then a shadow and had a tendency to lurk in them. He was quieter then silence and made even that seem loud. He was more deadly than a hidden dagger. He was an assassin. His only emotion was rage; his only thought, to succeed in his mission; his second nature, to kill. He was the perfect soldier.

      When he was 16 years old, he was given a machine to pilot, a machine he had been trained to use all his life. A Gundam. It was called Wing Zero. He knew his mission well as he had studied it for years. Upon his final day, moments before he left, Dr. Jay approached him with a few final words. 

      He had been out on solo missions before and had used random aliases. But this time, he needed a name that would more than likely last him a long time. He could never remember being called anything other than boy, bastard, and a few other various curses. But even with the knowledge that Dr. Jay was going to give a name, he was not prepared for what it was going to be.

      "You shall go under the name of Heero Yuy." He was stunned by this but only nodded, his cold eyes revealing nothing behind his helmet. A few minutes later he was off, descending to earth in his hidden mobile suit. 

      Sannes had died thirteen and a half years ago, the boy had died the moment he left the hanger of colony L1, and his life as Heero Yuy began.

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      The windows rattled as the wind howled against them. The fire snapped and sent sparks flying onto the hearth. These sounds were the only things that bridged the long silence that followed. 

      Relena stared at the man sitting beside her as he stared into the flames. It seemed to her that as the light flickered across his face it changed in emotion and age until it returned to the stone hard expressioned man in front of her. She had guessed many times the story behind that cold face but never had she imagined anything remotely like this.

      She cleared her throat. "S – so that's it?" she asked in a shaky tone.

      He didn't look at her but said, "You know the rest."

      She let her head drop down to stare at the floor. She had no idea what to say. What was there to say? She knew no words of comfort to smooth his pains. "Heero, I – I…"

      "You don't have to say anything. There isn't anything to be said." He abruptly interrupted her. She looked up surprised to see him standing there, staring darkly at the fire. "It's the past. It's over and it can't be changed." He fell silent again, but she could sense the pain in his tone.

      She stood up and stepped next to him, watching his face. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder and felt him stiffen, but he made no attempt to remove it. 

      "Just because it's the past and it's over that doesn't stop it from hurting, it doesn't take away the pain." She fell silent.

      He looked at her with cold eyes. "What would you know of pain? My father wanted me to rue the day I was born and I do, I regret it every single day." His voice rose slightly as he spoke and she took her hand away, backing up half a step. He saw her fear and regretted it a moment later. But all he did was turn his back on her and walk to the edge of the flickering light. He seemed to be tottering on the edge of some thought or decision as he stared into the shadows.

      "You know," her voice broke in softly, calmly. "You're not the only person haunted by the past." He gave no sign that he heard her or understood her. "I mean, I'm always having dreams about the last days of the Cinq Kingdom when everything was destroyed. Not only that but… other things." Now was not the time to be discussing that. 

      She looked up and saw him staring into the flames again. He stepped a bit more into the light. He was deep in thought as she walked up and leaned her chin up on his shoulder, a slight smile on her face.

      "Thank you for telling me, though. At least you don't have to be alone anymore." 

      He shifted suddenly so she took a step back. But a moment later she felt two strong arms snake their way around her waist and she was pulled against his chest. She stood there a moment then put her arms around his neck and embraced him, wishing she could wipe away all his bad memories. 

      As she nuzzled her face into the side of his neck he whispered, "Thank you."

**************************************************************************************************************************

      The lone wolf of winter howled its lonely song as the wind raged sending white flurries every which way. Clouds rolled across the sky black as midnight as the ground glowed in its white blanket. High up in an old fashioned mansion, a man and woman stood by a flickering fire in an embrace. Each the only anchor the other had to the treacherous, raging storm of a world that surrounded them.

^________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________^

AN/ that's it! Sappy, I no. but I was bord an felt like getting it out. Questions, comments and criticisms, along with other paraphernalia, r welcomed w/ open arms! Please leave your review at the door w/ Charles an never mind the whole in his chest, he's sorta touchy bout it. Peace out!


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